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Background Pharmacological therapies are key component of effective smoking-cessation management; however, the extent to which community pharmacists are prepared to deliver these interventions remains unclear. Objective This study explored the knowledge, attitudes, and practical engagement of community pharmacists toward pharmacological interventions of smoking cessation, and to examine the influence of demographic factors on these outcomes. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and August 2024 among licensed community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia. A structured questionnaire, distributed contained four sections: demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Results A total of 213 pharmacists participated (92% male, 80.8% non-Saudi), mostly aged 25–34 years and holding a bachelor’s degree (94.8%). Mean scores indicated moderate levels of knowledge (6.31 ± 2.7/10), attitude (13.07 ± 6.5/25), and practice (6.85 ± 2.1/12) toward smoking cessation. Although nearly one-third of pharmacists (30.5%) consistently referred patients to Ministry of Health cessation programs, routine assessment of smoking status was less common, with only 17.8% regularly asking patients whether they smoked. Reliability was good-to-excellent (α = 0.800–0.951). Knowledge correlated positively with practice ( r  = 0.203, p  = 0.003) but negatively with attitude ( r = − 0.244, p  < 0.001). Higher knowledge was associated with younger age ( p  = 0.035). Practice scores were higher among pharmacists from the Northern ( p  = 0.001) and Eastern regions ( p  = 0.006), and among those with prior smoking-cessation training ( p  = 0.012). Conclusion Community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia demonstrated moderate levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to pharmacological smoking-cessation interventions. Knowledge was positively associated with practice but negatively with attitudes. Practice levels varied significantly by region and were higher among pharmacists who had received prior training, highlighting the importance of targeted professional development and better integration of smoking cessation services into community pharmacy practice.

Research on the use of biodegradable polymers for drug delivery has been ongoing since they were first used as bioresorbable surgical devices in the 1980s. For tissue engineering and drug delivery, biodegradable polymer poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) has shown enormous promise among all biomaterials. PLGA are a family of FDA-approved biodegradable polymers that are physically strong and highly biocompatible and have been extensively studied as delivery vehicles of drugs, proteins, and macromolecules such as DNA and RNA. PLGA has a wide range of erosion times and mechanical properties that can be modified. Many innovative platforms have been widely studied and created for the development of methods for the controlled delivery of PLGA. In this paper, the various manufacturing processes and characteristics that impact their breakdown and drug release are explored in depth. Besides different PLGA-based nanoparticles, preclinical and clinical applications for different diseases and the PLGA platform types and their scale-up issues will be discussed.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a significant global health burden, characterized by high relapse rates and limited treatment options. Valproic acid, primarily used as an anticonvulsant and mood stabilizer, has been suggested as a potential therapeutic agent for AUD, particularly in patients with coexisting psychiatric conditions. This study systematically analyses clinical trials from ClinicalTrials.gov to evaluate the efficacy of valproic acid in treating AUD. A systematic search of ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted to identify clinical trials involving valproic acid in the management of substance use disorder (SUD). A total of 3,822 studies related to SUD were initially identified. Screening for anticonvulsant use narrowed this to 96 trials, and four completed studies specifically involving valproic acid and AUD were included in the final analysis. Key outcomes related to relapse rates, substance use reduction, mood stabilization, and withdrawal symptoms were examined. The included studies focused on various conditions, including alcohol dependence, bipolar disorder with substance abuse, traumatic brain injury with alcohol use, and medication-overuse headache. Valproic acid demonstrated potential benefits in reducing alcohol consumption, stabilizing mood, and managing withdrawal symptoms in specific subpopulations. However, relapse rates remained high in some trials, indicating limited long-term efficacy. Secondary outcomes showed improvements in psychiatric symptoms, though adverse effects such as sedation and gastrointestinal disturbances were noted. Valproic acid shows potential as a therapeutic option for managing AUD, particularly in individuals with coexisting psychiatric conditions or complex clinical profiles. While the drug showed some efficacy in reducing substance use and stabilizing mood, the overall impact on long-term abstinence remains uncertain. Further research is needed to better define the role of valproic acid in AUD treatment and to identify patient populations that may benefit most from its use.

The increasing volumes and sophistication of cyber threats, particularly Denial-of-Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, pose significant dangers to contemporary network structures, particularly the Internet of Things (IoT) environment. Conventional Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are also becoming obsolete because they perform detection in a built-in manner and are unable to capture the time trends of dynamic changes of threats. To eliminate such shortcomings, a new hybrid deep learning architecture named the Neural Turing Machine-Gated Recurrent Unit (NTM-GRU) model is proposed in this paper that incorporates the external memory of NTMs and extra temporal learning power of GRUs. The architecture supports analysis on dual timescales, which in turn captures short- and long-term dependencies, exposing the model to unravel complex, low, slow, and zero-day intrusions with recall. Huge testing on the standard sets (UNSW-NB15 and BoT-IoT) and actual (CICIDS2017 and CSE-CID-IS2018 ) demonstrate the high effectiveness of the usage of the model, reaching an accuracy of 99.98%, F1-scores of up to 96% on unknown threats, and the low false positive rates (less than 0.4%). The proposed framework can be applied in both industrial settings and high-speed network settings, where the real-time inference speed was measured at 2.3 milliseconds. The model also incorporates interpretability aspects, making it suitable for Security Operation Centres (SOCs). This work, through the merger of complex memory neural-network structures with cybersecurity needs and requirements encountered in the world, can be realized as providing a scalable, adaptive, and interpretable intrusion detection module, establishing a new state-of-the-art standard for securing next-generation networks.

Many people still struggle with quitting smoking despite available treatment options, making it one of the most significant public health challenges that our society faces. The use of electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) has become increasingly popular among people who are seeking to quit smoking. The objective of this review paper is to present a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms, several types, and impact of E-cigarettes, along with supporting evidence indicating their efficacy in aiding smokers to quit tobacco usage. Additionally, the review discusses recent developments in the treatment of smoking cessation, which include conventional smoking cessation methods. Also, the review discusses the challenges, potential risks, ethical considerations, and controversies surrounding the use of E-cigarettes. The present review presents a comprehensive examination of the existing methods and approaches employed in smoking cessation, including the emerging utilization of E-cigarettes as an effective option in smoking cessation. It explores their efficacy as a valuable instrument in promoting smoking cessation.

Background Congenital impairments, arising from a range of genetic, environmental, dietary, and teratogenic factors, are a significant public health concern. Pharmacists play a key role in preventing these conditions by ensuring pharmaceutical safety and providing maternal health education. However, there is limited research on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pharmacists in Saudi Arabia regarding the causes of congenital impairments. Objectives This study aimed to assess pharmacists’ awareness, perceptions, and practices related to these factors and identify key demographic influences on their knowledge and engagement. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among licensed pharmacists based in Saudi Arabia, including those working in clinical, academic, hospital, and community settings. A standardized and validated questionnaire comprising 30 items divided across knowledge, attitude, and practice domains was used to assess pharmacists’ perspectives. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate linear regression to identify the key demographic factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practice scores. Results The study included a total of 424 pharmacists, the majority of whom held a master’s degree (60.4%), were male (73.6%), and were aged between 25 and 34 years old (41.5%). Hospital pharmacists achieved significantly higher knowledge (4.39 ± 1.48, P  < 0.001), attitude (29.20 ± 5.49, P  = 0.000), and practice (33.16 ± 6.84, P  < 0.001) scores than community pharmacists. The knowledge gaps identified concerned the impact of environmental contaminants (28.5%) and maternal obesity (30.9%) on fetal development. However, pharmacists showed strong positive attitudes toward preventive measures, with 49.1% supporting increased training and 52.8% endorsing genetic screening as essential interventions. Conclusion The study highlights significant gaps in pharmacists’ understanding and practice concerning congenital impairments, particularly regarding lifestyle and environmental risk factors. Despite strong support for pharmacist training, participation in public health campaigns and patient counseling on teratogenic risks remains limited. To enhance congenital disability prevention efforts in Saudi Arabia, these findings emphasize the need for improved pharmacist knowledge, structured training programs, and more extensive integration of pharmacists within maternal healthcare teams.

The Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) is a patient-reported screening instrument that can be used to identify and assess central sensitization (CS)/Central Sensitization Syndrome (CSS)-related symptoms. The aim was to translate the CSI into Arabic (CSI-Ar) and to subsequently validate its psychometric properties. Cross-sectional. The CSI was translated and cross-culturally adapted into Arabic, and validated following international standardized guidelines. This study included patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain ( = 264) and healthy control participants ( = 56). Patients completed the CSI-Ar, Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale (DASS-21), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), and 5-level EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D). Patients completed the CSI-Ar twice to assess test-retest reliability. To evaluate discriminative validity, healthy controls participants completed the CSI-Ar. Statistical analyses were conducted to test the internal consistency, reliability, and structural, construct and discriminant validity of CSI-Ar. The CSI-Ar showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.919) and excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.874). The CSI-Ar scale had significant correlations ( < 0.001) with all PCS subscales and total score (Spearman's rho = 0.459-0.563, < 0.001), all DASS-21 subscales and total score (Spearman's rho = 0.599-0.685, < 0.001), the TSK (Spearman's rho = 0.395, < 0.001), and the EQ-5D (Spearman's rho = -0.396, < 0.001). The Mann-Whitney U-test showed a statistically significant difference between the patient group and the healthy control group ( < 0.001), with the healthy controls displaying a lower average CSI-Ar score (12.27 ± 11.50) when compared to the patient group (27.97 ± 16.08). Factor analysis indicated that the CSI-Ar is a unidimensional tool. The CSI-Ar is a reliable and valid screening tool that can be used to assess CS/CSS-related symptoms in Arabic-speaking people with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Factor XIII (FXIII) is a transglutaminase enzyme that catalyses the formation of ε-(γ-glutamyl)lysyl isopeptide bonds into protein substrates. The plasma form, FXIIIA2B2, has an established function in haemostasis, with fibrin being its principal substrate. A deficiency in FXIII manifests as a severe bleeding diathesis emphasising its crucial role in this pathway. The FXIII-A gene (F13A1) is expressed in cells of bone marrow and mesenchymal lineage. The cellular form, a homodimer of the A subunits denoted FXIII-A, was perceived to remain intracellular, due to the lack of a classical signal peptide for its release. It is now apparent that FXIII-A can be externalised from cells, by an as yet unknown mechanism. Thus, three pools of FXIII-A exist within the circulation: plasma where it circulates in complex with the inhibitory FXIII-B subunits, and the cellular form encased within platelets and monocytes/macrophages. The abundance of this transglutaminase in different forms and locations in the vasculature reflect the complex and crucial roles of this enzyme in physiological processes. Herein, we examine the significance of these pools of FXIII-A in different settings and the evidence to date to support their function in haemostasis and wound healing.

Background and Objectives: Numerous studies have indicated that antibiotics may adversely affect testicular and sperm function. As an alternative to penicillin, vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic developed to treat resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. A few studies have suggested that vancomycin could cause testicular toxicity and apoptosis. Vancomycin, however, has not been investigated in terms of its mechanism of causing testicular toxicity. Materials and Methods: An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of resveratrol (20 mg/kg, oral gavage) against vancomycin (200 mg/kg, i.p.) on the testicular function of Wistar rats for one week (7 days). There were three subgroups of animals. First, saline (i.p.) was administered to the control group. Then, in the second group, vancomycin was administered. Finally, vancomycin and resveratrol were administered in combination in the third group. Results: After seven days of vancomycin treatment, testosterone levels, sperm counts, and sperm motility were significantly reduced, but resveratrol attenuated the effects of vancomycin and restored the testosterone levels, sperm counts, and sperm motility to normal. In the presence of resveratrol, the vancomycin effects were attenuated, and the luteinizing hormone and follicular hormone levels were normalized after seven days of treatment with vancomycin. Histologically, vancomycin administration for seven days caused damage to testicular tissues and reduced the thickness of the basal lamina. However, the resveratrol administration with vancomycin prevented vancomycin’s toxic effects on testicular tissue. Conclusion: Resveratrol showed potential protective effects against vancomycin-induced testicular toxicity in Wistar rats.

Tapentadol is an analgesic compound that acts centrally to attenuate pain. Previous studies have shown that tapentadol has dual mechanisms of action as a mu-opioid receptor agonist and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibition. Therefore, tapentadol provides a great advantage over classic opioids in pain management from nociceptive to neuropathic. Cumulative evidence from in vitro data suggests that tapentadol effect of norepinephrine re-uptake could be a new target that overcomes other classic opioids in chronic neuropathic pain. Compared to tramadol and other opioids, tapentadol is associated with fewer adverse effects than tramadol. Tapentadol is a new alternative to treat acute, chronic, and neuropathic pain. Thus, this review article was focused on understanding the studies that led to the development of tapentadol as a novel analgesic drug and its advantages over conventional opioids. Thus, tapentadol is a good alternative with fewer adverse effects and is available for human use.